The Greedy Triangle
Written by Marilyn Burns
Illustrated by Gordon Silveria

About the Author

About the Illustrator

Respond to this book on the Powers Ferry blog

Words and Phrases to Explore

Curriculum Connections

• Before you begin reading this book assess student's prior knowledge about:  shapes.
• To build background knowledge consider using physical items such as a musical triangle, sandwich halves, checkerboard, chessboard, frames, soccer ball, hexagon shaped crackers, socket, bolt, honeycomb, websites, and videos from unitedstreaming.

English/Language Arts

Dialogue - Using quotation marks, new paragraphs for new speakers.

Commas - Commas are frequently used in a series.

Character Traits - Recognize character traits while you are reading.  Why does the triangle feel dissatisfied?  How do his feelings change as the story progresses?

Sequence of Events - The story is chronological.  Note the transitional phrases that are used throughout the book.

Writers Workshop: Procedural Writing Topics

• How to draw a (could use any of the shapes in the book)
• How to make and divide a sandwich into triangle halves

Writers Workshop: Persuasive Writing Topics

• The _____ is the best shape.
• The _____ is the most useful shape.

Math

Shapes

• Start a timeline of the shapes that the triangle becomes.  Have students create each shape. Geoboards would work well with this activity.
• Graph the number of ways that each shape can be seen in the book.

Tessellations - Hexagons fit as floor tiles in houses and patios.  This type of pattern is called a tessellation.  What other shapes will tessellate?

Social Studies

Washington D.C. - The triangle becomes a pentagon.  Talk about the actual pentagon being the headquarters of the United States military.

Science

Simple Machines - Sockets and bolts both have a hexagon shape.  Simple machines often rely on basic shapes for their strength.  See how many shapes you can find in various simple machines.

Activities Integrating Technology

Digital Camera - Have your students do a shape walk.  During their walk they will take pictures of the shapes they see.  These pictures can then be used for a PowerPoint presentation or used to create a movie with Photo Story 3 or Movie Maker.

Video Streaming - Listed below are titles that are available at www.unitedstreaming.com.  Please preview any videos before using them with students.  You may also want to import the video into PowerPoint and then create questions to use with Beyond Question.

• Discovering Math - Geometry (Many of the segments could be used.)

Related Websites

Technology Enhanced Writing and Math Activities - Also includes interactive games and critical thinking activities.

Mathematics Literature Connection - Find related literature and activities for The Greedy Triangle.

Lesson Plans

• Grade 3 - Geometric Terms and Predictions
• Grade 3-6 - Integrated Lesson:  Literature, Math, and Technology
• Grades 5-6 - Literature-Based Math - There are a lot of good discussion questions and activities that could be used at a variety of grade levels.
• Grade 1 - SMaRT Books lesson plan - Students will build on their understanding of geometric shapes.

Updated On: March 7, 2007